Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether an objective appraisal under the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance has been conducted for the Glasgow to Barra air link and, if so, whether it will place a copy in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Lewis Macdonald: No.

Child Care

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the £24 million child care package was allocated to (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council and how the money was distributed.

Cathy Jamieson: In July 2001, £24 million additional resources for child care were allocated through the child poverty package over 2001-04. The money was allocated as follows:

  £8.5 million was made available for child care grants for lone parents in full-time higher education to pay for child care. This grant is administered through the Students Awards Agency for Scotland. Figures for the 2001-02 allocation are not available, as payments were manual and not automated. The number of students receiving the £1,000 grant in 2002-03 is as follows:

  Argyll and Bute Council - 13

  West Dunbartonshire Council - 30

  £7.5 million was made available to further education colleges throughout Scotland to widen child care provision, based on locally identified needs. Responsibility for administering this money lies with the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. Information on awards made by this body is not held centrally.

  £8 million was made available to local authorities to help stabilise and sustain out-of-school care projects, especially in disadvantaged areas. The money was allocated over a three-year period as £2 million in 2001-02, £3 million in 2002-03 and £3 million in 2003-04.

  Of this, Argyll and Bute council was allocated £31,400 in 2001-02 and £47,500 in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

  West Dunbartonshire Council was allocated £22,800 in 2001-02 and £34,100 in 2002-03 and 2003-04.

  Allocation of this money within each local authority area is a matter for the individual council as they have responsibility for the allocation of funds at a local level. The information requested is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures have been taken to address any shortage of NHS dentists in the (a) Hamilton North and Bellshill and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Staffing issues are, in the first instance, for the appropriate NHS boards and trusts. However, at a national level, action has been taken to tackle shortages in dentistry.

  In April last year, I announced a £1 million package of measures to encourage the recruitment and retention of the newly qualified dentists in Scotland. Earlier this month, I then announced a further £6 million package of measures to improve access to NHS dental treatment and modernise Scotland’s dental practices, broken down to provide £3 million for new and enhanced incentives to support recruitment and retention in NHSScotland, and £3 million for dental improvements to NHS dental practices.

Dentistry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how the additional financial aid for dentistry, announced on 12 February 2003, will be deployed and how much of it will be used to ensure that dentistry services are available at locations within reasonable travelling distance for people in rural areas.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: I announced on 12 February, a £6 million package of measures aimed at improving dental practices and access to NHS dental treatment across Scotland. £3 million will be used for improvements to NHS dental practices of which NHS boards with rural areas will receive their share. A further £3 million is to provide for new and enhanced incentives to support the recruitment and retention of dentists and to encourage them to undertake more NHS work.

Enterprise

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive where the proposal for intermediate technology institutes originated.

Iain Gray: Based on the principles outlined in Smart, Successful Scotland , Scottish Enterprise identified a need to stimulate the emergence of more high-growth technology companies in Scotland. This required the commissioning of research to develop intellectual property based upon industry-led assessment of future market opportunities. This would, in turn, be diffused into new and existing companies. Having looked at various international approaches to this problem, and with consultation within Scotland and around the world, Scottish Enterprise developed the Intermediary Technology Institute model based upon international best practice, tailored to suit the circumstances in Scotland.

Environment

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the levels of emissions of carbon dioxide were in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002, broken down by source.

Allan Wilson: UK greenhouse gas emissions data, including carbon dioxide, has been disaggregated to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland annually since 2000, when data for 1990 and 1995 was first published. The most recently published data, for 1999, are available in the publication Greenhouse Gas Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990-1999 , available on the Executive's climate change website at www.scotland.gov.uk/climatechange.

  Emissions data in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990-2000 are currently being disaggregated to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and Scottish emissions data by source for 2000 is expected to be available later this year. I expect data for 2001 to be available towards the end of this year and data for 2002 to be available towards the end of 2004.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33022 by Ross Finnie on 28 January 2003, how the 15% figure in respect of possible future decommissioning was calculated.

Ross Finnie: The Total Allowable Catches (TACs) for cod stocks in the North Sea and west of Scotland imply a reduction in fishing mortality of 65%. In negotiation, it was agreed that a proportion of this should be underpinned by permanent reductions in fishing effort (decommissioning), and a proportion by temporary reductions in fishing effort (days at sea restrictions). In management terms, it is such fishing effort that is the best proxy for fishing mortality, the latter being the product of the former.

  On average, the 15 days per month limits imply a reduction in UK fishing effort on cod of 25%; the 2001-02 decommissioning schemes imply a reduction in UK fishing effort on cod of around 10%, and other measures (such as Scottish mesh size changes) might also reasonably be expected to deliver some reduction in fishing mortality.

  We negotiated on the basis of such assumptions and concluded that further decommissioning schemes in the UK should aim to remove an additional 15 to 20% of UK fishing effort on cod to ensure reasonable consistency with the 65% reduction in fishing mortality implied by the agreed TACs.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any reduction in fishing effort in the white fish sector has arisen due to the cancellation, sale or transferring of licences outwith the recent decommissioning scheme in each of the last three years and, if so, what the size of such a reduction has been in each year.

Ross Finnie: It is certainly the case that a number of white fish licences have been used, and more are expected to be used, to licence incoming pelagic vessels. This will have the effect of reducing licensed white fish capacity and could lead to reductions in white fish fishing effort.

  It is extremely difficult to track the effects of these and other licence transactions: an exercise to do so would take some time and resources and could only be undertaken at likely disproportionate cost. However, work done previously to inform discussions in the joint industry/Departmental Working Group on fishing vessel licensing suggested that over 1998 and 1999, in licence transactions involving over 10 metre vessels, the average increase in effort of vessels new to the fleet (measured in GT days) was 34%. This was offset to some extent by a 10% drop in the fishing effort of donor licence vessels, following re-licensing.

  The effects on fishing mortality of such transactions will also depend, amongst other things, on the efficiency of the vessels concerned, including as a result of technological gains. Overall, it seems unlikely that licence transactions have resulted in a real reduction in fishing effort in the white fish sector.

Football

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have been charged following arrest in or around football grounds in each of the last 10 years, broken down by football ground.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally.

Gas Safety

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to ensure that any public concern about gas leaks, such as the one reported from Park Place and Westport in Lanark, is reflected in urgent action by the relevant authorities and supervised by those responsible for public safety.

Lewis Macdonald: Gas safety is a reserved matter. Transco is responsible for running the gas emergency service under its licence conditions. This service is provided free of charge, at point of delivery, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year round. The Health and Safety Executive monitors Transco’s overall safety performance.

  Local authorities and the emergency services are primarily concerned with consequence management. As part of their emergency planning responsibilities, local authorities are required to have in place arrangements to deal with the consequences of major gas leaks. Their response and that of the emergency services would reflect the expert advice of the pipeline operator.

Homelessness

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made towards achieving its target that no-one need sleep rough.

Ms Margaret Curran: Current monitoring of the Rough Sleepers Initiative target involves a three-stage assessment, which is repeated annually. Full details of the methodology being employed are contained in the reply given to question S1W-18044 on 11 September 2001.

  The report of the full three-stage assessment of the incidence of rough sleeping in Scotland in 2002-03 is now available. I am placing copies in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 26601).

  In summary the report indicates that during the October 2002 study period of 14 days, 404 people reported sleeping rough at least once. This compares to 500 people in the May 2001 study period. An assessment of available accommodation showed that on a targeted night during the October study period, when 80 people reported they had slept rough, 164 bed spaces were available across Scotland.

  But tackling rough sleeping is about more than providing access to accommodation. The Rough Sleepers Initiative has recognised the very complex needs of many people who find themselves sleeping rough, by funding targeted health care, social support, drug and alcohol services, one-stop assessment centres, day centres, outreach services and supported accommodation. It will never be possible to stop people sleeping rough. What the Executive has done is to ensure the provision of a network of services and support so that those who find themselves on the streets can quickly connect with the help and support they need.

  The information contained in the report will be used to assist local authorities in the development and delivery of their homelessness strategies, and in particular in achieving a more effective match between services and people sleeping rough.

Local Government Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the grant aided expenditure settlement has been for (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council in each year since 1997 showing the percentage change year on year.

Mr Andy Kerr: The general revenue grant settlement allocations, with percentage increases, for Argyll and Bute Council are:

  

 

£ Million 
  

% 
  



1997-98 
  

108.035 
  

-1.83%* 
  



1998-99 
  

107.728 
  

-0.28%* 
  



1999-2000 
  

110.884 
  

2.93% 
  



2000-01 
  

113.524 
  

2.38% 
  



2001-02 
  

121.880 
  

7.36% 
  



2002-03 
  

136.675 
  

12.14% 
  



2003-04 
  

149.062 
  

9.06% 
  



2004-05 
  

158.074 
  

6.05% 
  



2005-06 
  

163.427 
  

3.39% 
  



  The general revenue grant settlement allocations, with percentage increases, for West Dunbartonshire Council are:

  

 

£ Million 
  

% 
  



1997-98 
  

106.067 
  

-7.68%* 
  



1998-99 
  

105.610 
  

-0.43%* 
  



1999-2000 
  

110.152 
  

4.30% 
  



2000-01 
  

112.855 
  

2.45% 
  



2001-02 
  

123.778 
  

9.68% 
  



2002-03 
  

135.502 
  

9.47% 
  



2003-04 
  

146.596 
  

8.19% 
  



2004-05 
  

152.456 
  

4.00% 
  



2005-06 
  

158.714 
  

4.10% 
  



  Note:

  *The allocations for 1997-98 and 1998-99 reflect transfers of responsibility out of general grant (e.g. for funding the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority) and the phasing out of transitional arrangements following local government reorganisation.

Local Government Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the capital consent has been for (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: In each year since 1997, Argyll and Bute Council and West Dunbartonshire Council have been issued capital consents for non-housing capital expenditure from borrowing and grants as follows:

  Argyll and Bute

  

 

£ Million 
  



1997-98 
  

14.962 
  



1998-99 
  

11.521 
  



1999-2000 
  

10.693 
  



2000-01 
  

10.936 
  



2001-02 
  

12.463 
  



2002-03 
  

16.564 
  



  West Dunbartonshire

  

 

£ Million 
  



1997-98 
  

4.141 
  



1998-99 
  

5.773 
  



1999-2000 
  

6.650 
  



2000-01 
  

6.439 
  



2001-02 
  

6.213 
  



2002-03 
  

7.587 
  



  Outwith the local government settlement, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire receive allocations of around £1.6 million and £5.7 million respectively each year for housing capital expenditure.

Local Government Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much money additional to the grant aided expenditure settlement, for example through the Better Neighbourhood Services Fund and other such initiatives, it has awarded to (a) Argyll and Bute Council and (b) West Dunbartonshire Council in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire Council have benefited from additional resources for a range of specific initiatives. The following tables give details of some of the largest additional funds that have been allocated to the councils outwith the main revenue settlement since 1997.

  


Argyll and Bute (£ million) 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  

2003-04 
  



Housing Revenue Account Allocations 
  

1.582 
  

1.607 
  

1.607 
  

1.607 
  

1.607 
  

1.607 
  
 



Criminal Justice Social Work Services 
  

0.347 
  

0.354 
  

0.395 
  

0.408 
  

0.516 
  

0.510 
  
 



Pre-School Education Grant1


1.221 
  

2.094 
  

2.374
0.074 
  

2.633
0.105 
  

0.125 
  
 
 



Better Neighbourhood Services Fund 
  
 
 
 
 

0.600 
  

0.900 
  

1.200 
  



Strategic Waste Fund 
  
 
 
 

0.080 
  

1.100 
  

1.810 
  
 



  


West Dunbartonshire (£ million) 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  

2001-02 
  

2002-03 
  

2003-04 
  



Housing Revenue Account Allocations 
  

5.569 
  

5.657 
  

5.657 
  

5.657 
  

5.657 
  

5.657 
  
 



Criminal Justice Social Work Services 
  

0.668 
  

0.714 
  

0.779 
  

0.884 
  

0.992 
  

1.037 
  
 



Pre-School Education Grant1


1.074 
  

2.248 
  

2.341
0.044 
  

1.682
0.123 
  


0.151 
  
 
 



Better Neighbourhood Services Fund 
  
 
 
 
 

2.000 
  

3.000 
  

4.000 
  



Strategic Waste Fund 
  
 
 
 

0.046 
  
 

0.138 
  
 



  Note:

  From 2002-03, Pre-School Education Grant is paid through general revenue grant.

Local Government Finance

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many young people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) Argyll and Bute council area have received education maintenance allowances in each year since 2001.

Iain Gray: Education maintenance allowances (EMAs) were first piloted in West Dunbartonshire from the start of academic year 2001-02.

  Five hundred and twenty-six West Dunbartonshire young people received EMAs during 2001-02 and in year 2002-03 there are currently 680 being paid EMA.

  EMAs are not available to young people in Argyll and Bute unless they attend a secondary school in West Dunbartonshire. In 2001-02, five Argyll and Bute young people received EMAs and in 2002-03 there are 10.

NHS Staff

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources it has made available to NHS trusts for the implementation of Partnership Information Network guidelines.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHSScotland Organisations receive a general allocation of funding each year and it is for them to decide how to allocate that funding in accordance with national and local priorities. Area partnership and local partnership forums should be involved in determining the funding process.

Public Transport

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in the (a) Dumbarton parliamentary constituency and (b) West Dunbartonshire local authority area are eligible for free local off-peak bus travel.

Lewis Macdonald: Two distinct groups are eligible for concessionary travel in Scotland – elderly people and disabled people. Data on the number of disabled people eligible for concessionary travel is not held centrally.

  All men and women aged 60 and over will be eligible for concessionary travel from 1 April 2003 when men aged 60 to 64 are added to those currently eligible. The 2001 census results show a total of 12,845 men and women aged 60 and over in the Dumbarton parliamentary constituency and 19,353 in the West Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Public Transport

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much Strathclyde Passenger Transport has been allocated to enable free local off-peak bus travel in its area.

Lewis Macdonald: Funding for concessionary travel is allocated to local authorities as part of their unhypothecated general block grant allocation. Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) has been delegated as the administrator of the Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Joint Committee, and allocation of funds to SPT is a matter for the 12 unitary authorities within its area.

Rail Network

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SEET240/2003 of 22 January 2003, on what date (a) a performance impact study was completed and (b) regulatory dispensation for the works was received in respect of each rail project, broken down by the authorising or consulting body in each case.

Lewis Macdonald: Performance impact studies will be carried out and regulatory dispensations will be sought as the detailed specification for each rail scheme is developed.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will fund or support an action for judicial review against the Strategic Rail Authority in relation to its recent announcements on cuts in expenditure; if so, to what extent; which aspects of the decisions will be reviewed, and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald: No.

Rail Network

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has had any discussions with the applicants for the ScotRail franchise and Aberdeenshire Council regarding reopening Laurencekirk Station and, if so, what the outcomes of any such discussions were.

Lewis Macdonald: Proposals to re-open a particular station are a local transport matter and as such are the responsibility of the relevant local transport authority or transport partnership to take forward. Aberdeenshire Council, in conjunction with ScotRail and Network Rail, is currently examining the potential demand for a new passenger station at Laurencekirk.

  The pre-qualification process for the next franchise is currently under way, and no announcement has yet been made regarding the companies that will be invited to submit a bid. Accordingly, discussions about potential new services have not taken place.

Roads

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-33057 by Lewis Macdonald on 21 January 2003, whether it has received a final copy of the Society of Chief Officers of Transport (SCOTS) roads condition report.

Lewis Macdonald: No. The national condition survey of local roads is being carried out by SCOTS on behalf of COSLA and local authorities. The findings of the first year's survey work have not yet been published and will be reported to those bodies in the first instance, not to ministers.

Roads

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the (a) net revenue expenditure on roads maintenance and winter maintenance and (b) gross capital expenditure on the structural maintenance of roads has been in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is given in tables number 11.1 to 11.4 of Scottish Transport Statistics No. 21 , a copy of which is available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 23316).

  For trunk roads, expenditure is expressed for the network as a whole and is not broken down into local authority areas. For local roads, table 11.1 shows expenditure for all authorities year by year, while table 11.3 breaks the most recent year down by authority. A breakdown by authority for previous years is given in earlier editions of the publication (Bib. numbers 26533, 16385, 8690 and 15770).

  Figures are not yet available for the year to March 2002.

Roads

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that an improved road gritting programme is implemented in the Highland Council area in order to ensure that pupils are able to access schools that remain open during snowy weather, in the light of recent experience in the area.

Lewis Macdonald: Winter maintenance of local roads is a matter for Highland Council and it is their responsibility to put in place adequate planning and resources to ensure that a road gritting programme is implemented.

  Winter maintenance of trunk roads in the Highland Council area is defined in BEAR Scotland's Winter Maintenance Plan, and is monitored by the independent Performance Audit Group.

Social Services

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what attention is being paid to diversity by the Scottish Social Services Council when it considers which qualifications will be recognised for people working in the social services workforce, given that diversity is one of the key principles underpinning the Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001.

Cathy Jamieson: In developing the proposed qualification framework, the Scottish Social Services Council has taken account of the diverse nature of social services in Scotland. Extensive consultation has been undertaken with a wide range of bodies to ensure that the framework reflects the requirements of the different users and providers of social services. Account has been taken of the need to increase qualifications across the sector yet retain a balance with the need to be inclusive and recognise the full range of skills and attributes necessary to deliver quality social services for the people of Scotland.

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown of the (a) funding and (b) timetable to complete the modern transport system for Aberdeen.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is given on pages 1 and 2 of the evidence provided by the North East Scotland Transport Partnership (NESTRANS) to the Transport and Environment Committee on 19 December 2001, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 26466).

  I understand that NESTRANS intend to publish an update report in the next few weeks and I will arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

Transport

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the timetable to complete the Aberdeen western peripheral route is; whether it will give a breakdown of how much funding is required for the project, and what percentage of the funding is expected to be provided by (a) it and (b) the North East of Scotland Transport Partnership.

Lewis Macdonald: The timetable estimated by NESTRANS is given on page 5 of the evidence provided by the North East Scotland Transport Partnership (NESTRANS) to the Transport and Environment Committee on 19 December 2001, a copy of which is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 26465).

  I understand that NESTRANS intend to publish an update report in the next few weeks and I will arrange for a copy to be sent to you.

  The estimated funding required to complete the Aberdeen western peripheral route is £120 million. The percentage of this funding to be provided by the Scottish Executive, and by the two councils, is yet to be determined.

Transport

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to improve transport links between Dumbarton and Glasgow since 1999.

Lewis Macdonald: Through Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive we fund rail services between Glasgow and Dumbarton, which have recently benefited from the introduction of new electric trains. We awarded West Dunbartonshire Council over £1 million for improvements to public transport in Dumbarton town centre. We recently announced proposals to re-open the Airdrie to Bathgate railway line, which will create new transport links from Dumbarton via Glasgow to Livingston and Edinburgh.